What's your take on our coaching?

I don't really know who's fault it is, but the defense has given up some pretty inexcusable drives lately.

Like the 81 yarder that put Miami up 20-9? That one was a classic letdown from the offense. Not lettin em off the hook, but I wasn't surprised given the circumstance. We score on that drive rather than a rex INT, it's a different defense.

There have been games, e.g. Iggles 1st half, where they've been slow to get going or adjust. I'm not saying I want more 0 blitz but i have noticed its absence the last few weeks. Wonder if shanahan is micro-managing the D more?

I was going to start a new thread on this but now I dont feel like putting in the effort.Most of the bitching on this thread has been about the Shanahans,but what about Haslet?
Last yr the skins & texans were 2 of the worst if not the worst defenses in football.Skins had switched to 3-4 as we all know and it didnt work out well.
This yr the texans switch to a 3-4 with a new coach and no offseason to work on it.Theyre number 1 in the nfl on defense without their star player Mario Williams.So in less than a season Wade phillips has turned that defense around and we still suck.
Do you think its coaching? I dont see a big talent difference in the 2 teams.Or is it our offense sucks so ****ing bad the defense is not getting enough rest?

Well the Texans had a good offense already, but they couldn't get a defense decent enough to help them win games when it counted. But you are right, I think Phillips has done a good job in the 3-4 conversion. I wonder if he has done a better job at adapting his scheme to his players, rather than the other way around.

I don't really know who's fault it is, but the defense has given up some pretty inexcusable drives lately.

Thats true but there's a lot of pressure on the D because they know they pretty much have to pitch a shut-out in order for the Skins to have a shot at winning.

Starting with the top down...

My frustration with Mike is building. I think as the "big picture" goes he's wasted two years with the QB situation and (therefor) to a large extent the offense. To be sure Kyle has much to do with the QB mess, assuming he's the primary reason we have Rex on the roster at all. But at the end of the day Mike is still the HC. The other frustration with Mike is our lack of preparedness, especially on offense and teams. The delay of game today on the field goal turned punt is a prime example.

In general I don't feel like the offense consistently works together and fights to win. When Helu took a big shot today on that short pass (he couldn't make the catch and got the wind knocked out of him) just one player, a lineman I think, came over to check on him, and that guy didn't even help Helu up. WTF?! This kid is a promising rookie and just got plastered. I think the lack of camaraderie on offense is a symptom of Mike's failure in leadership.

On the defense there's plenty of camaraderie and these guys are definitely fighting to win. Haslett is a great motivator IMHO. His scheme is suspect part of the time, but I will go on record Haslett has exceeded my expectations.

So, I'm disappointed in the Shanahans and pretty damn impressed with Haslett. Very curious to know what ya'll are thinking...so discuss!

PS I think Mike's history as a returning 2X championship HC has to be taken into account when assessing his performance here. I definitely expected him to come in with a solid plan of action and have the offense, especially the QB situation, moving in a better direction by now.


I believe that Mike is doing everything he possibly can to rebuild this team. We, as Redskins fans, are just too darned impatient to see the process through. As I have always said, we don't know what truly goes on on the sidelines. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. With that said, we have to take a look at the big picture and everything that has happened to this team. The injuries have been horrid this year. Can't really blame the coaching staff for that. If the Redskins don't have those injuries, things could be a lot different for this team. IMHO, Mike is as much in teacher mode for these young players right now as he is in coaching mode. He wants these players to work hard and to play smart. He wants to see how they react in certain situations on the field. Yes, this stuff should be seen during preseason, but in all honesty, I don't think you can clearly get the full answer until you put these players in those situations when it actually counts.

With that said, I really don't have an opinion either way. I don't believe one can truly assess this coaching staff until all the pieces are in place. I think until the Redskins find their franchise QB, build depth on that OL, have their players in skilled positions healthy, then how can we really truly assess Mike Shanahan? I'll admit, I'm a bit skeptical on the Kyle philosophy meshing well with the Mike (run first) philosophy, but I'm willing to keep things as is until we get better players on this team. I believe it's just as simple as that. I think you assess the coaching staff once the rebuilding has been "completed". In other words, I'd wouldn't assess the coaching staff until season number three has been completed.

Well the Texans had a good offense already, but they couldn't get a defense decent enough to help them win games when it counted. But you are right, I think Phillips has done a good job in the 3-4 conversion. I wonder if he has done a better job at adapting his scheme to his players, rather than the other way around.

Tubby's D is like a 4-3 in some respects. Interesting breakdown from a Texans fan in the link below.

Wade Phillips: Is it a 3-4, a 4-3 hybrid, or a 50? - ClutchFans (http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=207617)

I believe that Mike is doing everything he possibly can to rebuild this team. We, as Redskins fans, are just too darned impatient to see the process through. As I have always said, we don't know what truly goes on on the sidelines. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors. With that said, we have to take a look at the big picture and everything that has happened to this team. The injuries have been horrid this year. Can't really blame the coaching staff for that. If the Redskins don't have those injuries, things could be a lot different for this team. IMHO, Mike is as much in teacher mode for these young players right now as he is in coaching mode. He wants these players to work hard and to play smart. He wants to see how they react in certain situations on the field. Yes, this stuff should be seen during preseason, but in all honesty, I don't think you can clearly get the full answer until you put these players in those situations when it actually counts.

With that said, I really don't have an opinion either way. I don't believe one can truly assess this coaching staff until all the pieces are in place. I think until the Redskins find their franchise QB, build depth on that OL, have their players in skilled positions healthy, then how can we really truly assess Mike Shanahan? I'll admit, I'm a bit skeptical on the Kyle philosophy meshing well with the Mike (run first) philosophy, but I'm willing to keep things as is until we get better players on this team. I believe it's just as simple as that. I think you assess the coaching staff once the rebuilding has been "completed". In other words, I'd wouldn't assess the coaching staff until season number three has been completed.

Exactly, Mike already gets a free pass for this season. Very few coaches would be able to turn what this team currently is into a winner. Our team is dreadful from the center to the quarterback, we're absolute garbage right now.

Our defense on the other hand would undeniably be in the top 5 with a little bit of help. There are a lot of teams that would switch defenses with us.

Tubby's D is like a 4-3 in some respects. Interesting breakdown from a Texans fan in the link below.

Wade Phillips: Is it a 3-4, a 4-3 hybrid, or a 50? - ClutchFans (http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=207617)

Phillip's 3-4 would fit our team better. Especially with Cofield at NT.

Me and my dad were talking last night and he thought if we are at a top 5 pick next year shannahan will be gone and he thinks Gruden will be our coach due to the fact he has worked with Allen before in Tampa.

I don't really know who's fault it is, but the defense has given up some pretty inexcusable drives lately.

This season is going to parallel my uncle's last year at Ohio St. He lost Chris Carter for taking the money from that agent, then lost most of his offensive line to year ending injuries before the Big Ten season started. The D, anchored by Chris Spielman kept the team in games til week 8 when they just collapsed from having the pressure put on them the whole year. They regrouped for the U of M game, but not til my UNcle got the boot. You can't expect the D to be on the field for so long in game after game without reaching a breaking point. Haslett needs to feel a little heat, but the Shanahans need to be scorched then.

I can be a patient man and give Shanny two years to give us something that resembles a competitve football team. I am not even talking about playoffs, just competitive like ole Norv's 7-9 to 9-7 seasons, which signals we are indeed moving in some positive direction. If that doesn't happen then we were hoodwinked again by Snyder, with yet another sexy franchise move. Asking for a competitive team next year might be asking too much since we would have a rookie QB, but his sophmore season there has to be some marked improvement. We can't abandon retooling the D either, as we need to revamp both the secondary and LB corp.